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Sacred Art & Iconography

Gold Coin of King Ezana (British Museum, circa 340 to 400)

Christian Art

A gold coin struck under King Ezana of Aksum, circa 340 to 400. The obverse shows the king crowned and holding a sceptre, flanked by wheat stalks, with crosses at top, bottom and both sides; a Greek inscription names him King Ezanas. Aksum was among the first states anywhere to strike the cross on its money, marking Ezana's conversion to Christianity. Held today by the British Museum.

Facts
Classification
Object Type
Metalwork or Jewelry 1
Physical Form
Medium
Gold coin, circa 340 to 400, British Museum 1
Medium (class)
Metalwork 1
Connections

Belongs to Tradition

Derived: this work depicts a figure already recorded as belonging to this tradition; the work-to-tradition link is inferred from that live depicts edge and the figures own attested tradition affiliation, not independently sourced beyond it.

Source Gold Coin of King Ezana, British Museum (1921,0316.1)

Depicts

The coin's own Greek inscription names King Ezanas as its subject.

Source Gold Coin of King Ezana, British Museum (1921,0316.1)
Sources
1. Gold Coin of King Ezana, British Museum (1921,0316.1)
British Museum
  • British Museum 1921,0316.1
  • catalogue record, medium/object-type description
    A gold coin struck under King Ezana of Aksum, circa 340 to 400.
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